Ice makers/dispensers are commercially available for home and office use.
Typically, residential refrigerators include ice making/dispensing features. These are capable of making small amounts of ice over a period of time, with limited storage capability. Such refrigerators are not adaptable for a larger office having greater ice production needs and greater storage needs.
Particularly, in an office environment, the size constraints limit the adaptability of refrigerator systems as they are conventionally known to satisfy office and commercial needs.
Additionally, typical ice dispensers are not also adapted to dispense water, especially in units that are of sufficiently small size to meet the size constraints of an office or commercial establishment while still producing a desirable amount of production of ice.
Additionally, where ice is to be dispensed from storage bins, it has been known to use augers in storage bins. However, augers that deliver ice to the discharge from the storage bins can surge in flow, resulting in overfilling of the user's cup or other container, often discharging excessive amounts of ice into the cup, or in an array around the cup, possibly landing on a drip tray and melting, leaving water around the vicinity of the ice maker.
In ice making systems in accordance with the prior art, it is known to use evaporators for making ice, including evaporators with inner and outer cylinders between which the refrigerant flows. Such systems are available for example, as are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,201, the complete disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
Additionally, conventional ice makers/dispensers typically require an open drain, to allow for removal of melt water from their ice storage bin, and to allow mineral laden water to be periodically drained from the evaporator portion of the ice making system, both of which can require interruption of the ice maker/dispenser use, to manually clean the components that comprise the system.